JBPM completes delivering food aid to Gua Musang Orang Asli

GUA MUSANG: The Air Unit of the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) today completed the task of delivering 25 tonnes of food supplies to 13 Orang Asli settlements and posts in the district.

Three aircraft were used to carry out the assignment, which was the longest operation and took up to seven days to be carried out, due to the unpredictable weather challenges faced by the crew members.

Subang Central Region Base operations commander, Senior Fire Superintendent II Wahyudi Mohd Sayuhti, said that the supply delivery assignment could only start on the fourth day after their arrival from Subang.

"Alhamdulillah, the operation, involving 28 flights, to deliver food aid to the Orang Asli community in the interior who were cut off due to damaged roads and affected by the northeast monsoon, was completed today," he said when met by reporters at the Gua Musang Fire and Rescue Station, here today.

"During the operation, a total of 25 hours of flight was carried out with three aircraft, namely Agusta 109 E (A109E), Agusta Westland 189 (AW189) and Mi-17-IV,

"Among the challenges the crew members had to face was the low cloud and low visibility," he said.

Wahyudi said that the last flight resumed today using the A109E helicopter, ferrying 25 bags of food items to Kampung Lalok, Pos Bihai.

"This operation to the last location had to be halted at about 3 pm yesterday due to the rainy weather, and resumed this morning," he said.

He added that all 22 crew members will return to the Subang Central Regional Base as soon as the assignment is concluded.

--BERNAMA